Another core member of the Phillies’ golden era is going into the club’s Wall of Fame.
Chase Utley will be inducted into the Phillies’ Wall of Fame before Philadelphia’s Aug. 7 game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Citizens Bank Park, the team announced Thursday.
Utley is the second cornerstone player from the club’s golden era (2007-2011) to be inducted into the Wall of Fame — Jimmy Rollins became the first player inducted last season. Ed Wade, the general manager who planted the seeds for the Phillies’ 2008 World Series championship and the golden era, was also inducted last summer.
Utley became a fan favorite for his old-school, high-intensity playing style in his 13-year career in Philadelphia. He was nicknamed “The Man” by legendary Phillies play-by-play broadcaster Harry Kalas and became a crush for the character “Mac” in “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.”
Utley made six All-Star Games and won four Silver Sluggers with the Phillies. He tied the MLB record for the most home runs in a World Series with five in 2009, joining Reggie Jackson (1977) and George Springer (2017). His seven career World Series homers are the most ever by a second baseman.
He finished his Phillies career hitting .282/.366/.481 with an .847 OPS, 259 home runs, 1,025 RBIs and being hit by a pitch 173 times. He spent his final four seasons with the Dodgers and finished his career as one of the most hit-by-pitch players in MLB history. He was plunked 204 times over his 16-year career, ninth most in the history of the sport.
During his peak, from 2006 to 2011, Utley was widely considered the best second baseman in baseball. In the six-year span, Utley had the highest bWAR (42.0), OPS (.893), OPS+ (131), on-base percentage (.385) and slugging percentage (.508) among second basemen in MLB. He slugged 145 homers with 511 RBIs over the period.
In January, Utley received 59.1% of the vote in his second year on the Baseball Hall of Fame ballot — a little over a 30% jump from year over year. Utley appears set on a path to becoming the first core and perhaps only player from the golden era to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.